To honour and celebrate Mandela Day, the Cape Town Big 6 recently hosted 28 children from Groot Constantia. We treated them to a whirlwind tour of the top destinations in Cape Town, and all came away with a new appreciation for the Mother City.

The children were between ages 6 and 20, and the Big 6 gave them the opportunity to experience a range of exciting attractions. The itinerary included a trip up Table Mountain on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Cape Point the next morning. They also managed to squeeze in a trip to Kirstenbosch. There they visited the exciting Boomslang treetop canopy walkway and the new Dinosaur Exhibition.

The week ended with a trip to the V&A Waterfront on Friday. There the children explored the Two Oceans Aquarium, the various V&A Waterfront attractions, and the Robben Island Museum. They also had the opportunity to see the city from a brand new angle, aboard a double-decker City Sightseeing bus.

The goal of the week was to give the children of Groot Constantia a few days as tourists in their own city. Many had not experienced these attractions, and the Big 6 wanted to give them the opportunity to fall in love with the beauty that lies in their backyards.

Grant Newton, managing member of the Big 6 and sales and marketing manager at Groot Constantia, every year the Big 6 bands together in a similar community initiative. It forms an important part of their commitment to the Responsible Tourism Charter.

“So few of our own youth ever get to experience the tourist attractions that are in their own back yard,” says Newton. “These children are the future ambassadors for Cape Town and we cannot expect them to hold a sense of pride and place in their City if they do not know what it has to offer. In the spirit and ethos of Sustainability and Responsibility as held in the Responsible Tourism charter we made the decision to look after our own. We believe that experiences such as these can change a child’s perceptions forever, and open up a host of new horizons. It has the potential to change their lives.”